|
    Check it Out!    
|
|
RideCamp@endurance.net
Sacramento Horse Auction
Jennifer Mallory cowgirl_30_98@yahoo.com
Well, people haven’t commented much on the Sacramento
Horse Sale, but I’d thought I’d give my humble observations
to what I hope is a continuing event.
First, the speakers were wonderful and I wish I could have
listened to them all. Bazy Tankersley of Al-Marah was
unable to attend due to health difficulties, I wish her
godspeed and good luck. Hope to hear from her. But
Becky Hart gave some of her always-appreciated
insights and I noticed more than just a few people taking
notes. We always learn something from Becky.
Julie Suhr was witty, wonderful and simply a joy. I, amongst
others, I’m sure, light candles at every Mass wishing she could
speak more at the Convention and these events. She had the
entire crowd in rapt attention and several, myself included, had
tears in our eyes from both laughter and admiration.
The Lady is Simply a Treasure.
Marion Schlinger had a great talk about riding LD and
Endurance as pleasure rides and not races. I noticed that
many people were riveted to this topic, seems there
were more than a few pleasure trail riders out there wanting
to break into the sport and not knowing how different it
was from their current way of trail riding. I overheard
several people talking about how CTR/Endurance
really isn’t any faster than they’re currently traveling –
let’s give it a try! Hope AERC got a few applications
filled out from that talk.
Rita Swift brought sobering news to the potential closing of
a local horseman’s camp – due to lack of use. A call to arms,
so to speak.
But, of course, you want to hear about the horses! Ok, here
is where I’m going to tick off more than a few people, but to
hell with it. I’ve been burned on this list so many times, it’s
getting to be an enticement more than a repellent.
I thought, for pre-screened horses, there were a couple that
had no business being included in a distance horse sale.
The one with the saddle sore that was lame under saddle
comes to mind. The critter was sound when he was at
liberty, but you should have heard how quiet the stands
were. Or the one with the terrifically weak loins. Now,
I realize that there are very successful distance horses out
there that are conformational disaster areas, but a couple
of these guys looked like they were on the downside of
their endurance careers.
A couple of horses had starting bids that were far too high.
They never got a bid, and probably for good reason. I was
starting to wonder if it was “Take Advantage of the Silicon
Valley Economy” syndrome.
There were a couple of sleepers and a couple of wonderful
prospects. One young horse under saddle was one of the best
movers I had seen and had a very sane opening bid. Was
*shocked* to see that more bids weren’t put on him. Steal
of the sale, if you ask me. There was a Gentlemen’s Quarterly
-type horse there (read: gorgeous), but probably wasn’t as
much an endurance prospect as a show ring prospect. There
was a part-bred there that probably could have qualified for
Greco-Roman wrestling, he was truly massive. Another
broad-chested one that was solidly started and could probably
have done absolutely anything asked of him, including climb
Everest and obliterating cows. If *that’s* what his daddy
throws, I know who I’m breeding my mare to.
All in all, there were the good, the fair and the ugly. I overheard
a couple of the people that screened and/or put on the sale
complaining quite bitterly that people just don’t know how
decent these prices were. Some fit that description, some did not.
Summation: I looked at 75 horses all up and down California,
Oregon and Washington before I found my current horse. If I
had access to this type of sale, it probably would have been my
only stop. Personally, I hope they continue this sale with the
speakers. It was great fun, got to learn some new things and
boy, wasn’t it fun to pick on a couple of the catch riders they
had on the sale horses! Puh-leeze, guys, learn to post!
Jennifer Mallory
|
    Check it Out!    
|
|
Home
Events
Groups
Rider Directory
Market
RideCamp
Stuff
Back to TOC